Trump Responds To Leaked ‘Off The Record’ Comments About Canada

President Donald Trump is angry-tweeting again this afternoon, this time at Bloomberg News, after “off the record” things he told them Thursday about upcoming talks with Canada were obtained by the Toronto Star. Bloomberg agreed not to print the comments, but the Star never made any such promise.

Those comments include the statement that Trump planned to make no compromises at all in the now-derailed talks with Canada. He apparently claimed he couldn’t say that publicly, though, because “it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal.”

Another remark Trump didn’t want published was that any possible deals with Canada would be “totally on our terms.” He implied that he was scaring the Canadians into cooperating by threatening to impose tariffs.

“Off the record, Canada’s working their ass off. And every time we have a problem with a point, I just put up a picture of a Chevrolet Impala,” Trump reportedly said, referring to the fact that Chevy Impalas are made at a General Motors plant in Ontario.

Star couldn’t confirm 100 percent that the comments are real, although neither John Micklethwait, Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief (who was present during Thursday’s interview with Trump) nor the White House disputes that they were made. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s officials are certain the leaked comments are real and they see them as evidence that the Trump team had never been planning on compromising. Surprise!

At the beginning of the Canada-U.S. meeting on Friday, Trudeau’s officials let on that they knew about the quotes. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Chrystia Freeland, said, “We’re looking for a good deal, not just any deal. And we will only agree to a deal that is a good deal for Canada. We’re not there yet.”